Friday, 2 August 2013

Taking care of your natural hair in braids

Yo yo mas! (lol)

In last week's post, I talked about preparing natural hair for the braiding process. It involved the usual deep conditioning, detangling, washing and stretching. I've had my braids in now for about 2 weeks, and truth be told, I'm actually getting bored of them and wouldn't mind taking them out. However, I feel like that would be a waste of money, so I have another 2 week or so to go.

In the meantime, I have to make sure my hair's properly taken care of, while underneath the braids. So let's have a look see, shall we?

DEEP CONDITIONING
This is a bit tricky, as it would certainly be cumbersome to apply Deep Conditioner to a head full of braids. I simply chose to cowash my hair, so I wouldn't have to DC. But if you do want to, using a tip applicator bottle, apply a light coating of your deep conditioner to your braids and cover with a plastic cap for at least 30 minutes. Then of course, rinse out thoroughly.

CLEANSING
Your hair and scalp need to be cleaned regularly while you have your braids in. I tend to wash my hair once a week, or every 10 days. Different naturalistas have their methods of cleaning their hair while braided. You may use a cotton ball soaked in diluted ACV or diluted shampoo or even your conditioner, and run through your hair and scalp. Keep in for about 20 minutes and rinse out. I simply did a cowash and ACV rinse with my head hanging over into my bathtub - got quite wet still, and it was cumbersome.

MOISTURIZING
Be sure to keep your hair and scalp moisturized! Just because your hair's hidden, doesn't mean that it doesn't need moisture anymore. The easiest way to do this is your spray bottle of course! Your regular mix of water, oils (and maybe a teeny bit of leave-in conditioner) is just fine. Spray once or twice a day to keep your hair moisturized. You could also use a bottle with a tip applicator, if you don't have a spray bottle. Oh, and don't forget to seal in with a light hair butter. Yes, each braid.

*Extra note* You can include jojoba or castor oil in your routine, and apply to your edges daily or every other day; gently massaging to ensure your ends don't say BUH-BYE.

NIGHT-TIME
So your hair's hidden underneath braids, meaning that you don't have to worry about satin wraps or pillowcases, right? WRONG! You may put the braids into a high bun, and wrap the base of your hair with a satin scarf.

And there we have it! You're all set to have a smooth braid journey, and minimize damage to your hair.